Toyota number one again

By
Euronews

Toyota sold 7.4 million vehicles worldwide in the first nine months of the year, beating GM and Volkswagen to regain the top seller title.

The Japanese carmaker also nudged its full-year net profit forecast up to the equivalent of 7.6 billion euros.

Toyota’s bosses said they were confident that a recent sales slump in China can be overcome.

Executive Vice President Satoshi Ozawa told reporters: “We are not going to change our thinking towards China and, obviously, we will carry on making and launching cars that please Chinese drivers and contribute to the development of Chinese society”.

China – the world’s largest car market – has recently seen often violent anti-Japanese protests in a dispute over ownership of islets in the East China Sea. That included attacks on car showrooms.

The slowing Chinese economy has also hit sales there.

Toyota’s were down by 200,000 between January and September.

Honda last week cut its full-year net profit forecast by a fifth to take account of the China damage, and Nissan is expected to follow suit when it releases its July-September results.

Toyota was able to revise its forecasts higher as it traditionally gives more conservative earnings guidance and relies less heavily on China sales.

China accounts for around 12 percent of Toyota’s total sales, compared to Nissan’s 27 percent and Honda’s 20 percent. The backlash in China against Japanese goods allowed Hyundai Motor and BMW to pick up market share.